Forest management officials in Dak Lak Province have asked police and prosecutors to press charges against a group for destroying 1.6 hecates of primitive, protected forest.

Vo Van Tu, a local forest ranger, said local residents Pham Dinh Thanh and Mai Xuan Hai headed a party which destroyed 1.6 hectares of the protected jungle.

Tu claims the group chopped down 13 square meters of timber to create roads leading to an illegal crystal mine.

The group has illegally dug a pair of mines totalling about 1,200 square meters.

Officials from the Central Highlands province estimated that the group caused more than VND100 million (US$5,135) worth of damage.The figure does not include damage done to the area's mineral resources.